Nothing beats being at the race track in person, but for fans that don’t have the opportunity to get to Irwindale, Calif., for the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, NASCAR will be providing a unique experience through the official website of NASCAR’s touring and weekly series.

NASCARHometracks.com will host live streaming video of the on-track activity for the both Friday, Jan. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 29 leading up to the live broadcast on SPEED of race drivers have dubbed the ‘Daytona 500 of short-track racing.’

Fans in the Irwindale area will also have a chance before the race weekend to meet some of the top drivers scheduled to compete in the Showdown at two special fan events.

Matt Denny's Alehouse Restaurant in Arcadia, Calif., will be the site of the fan event on Wednesday, Jan. 26, while Clubhouse 66 Restaurant in Glendora, Calif., will serve as host on Thursday, Jan. 27. Both events will be from 6-8 p.m. PT and provide fans with an opportunity to meet the drivers, get autographs and have a chance to win tickets to the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown.

The Lug Nutz Show with Gordon Stewart on KLAA 830-AM will broadcast live from the event.

The main event of the weekend will be the 225-lap NASCAR K&N Pro Series all-star race on Saturday, which features secured starting spots for the 2010 champions of NASCAR’s developmental series and race winners of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series from the 2010 season. The weekend also includes a 75-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model race on Friday night and the 50-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model race on Saturday.

Beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, fans will be able to check out all the on-track action from Toyota Speedway via a live video stream at NASCARHomeTracks.com. The camera – which will be stationed atop the track’s press box and capture all on-track activity – will be live throughout the day until SPEED’s live coverage begins at 7 p.m. The live stream on Saturday begins at 4:30 p.m. with the Late Model qualifying races and will run until SPEED’s coverage begins at 7 p.m.

Both nights of racing on SPEED will feature Rick Allen and Phil Parsons in the booth, with Dick Berggren and Jim Tretow covering action in the pits.